Shepherd allegedly abducted by ISIS in Garmiyan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish shepherd was abducted by suspected Islamic State (ISIS) members in Garmiyan administration’s Kifri district on Monday, a Peshmerga commander confirmed to Rudaw, days after another relative of the shepherd was abducted and later released by the militant group.

Sarwat Rashid, a 45-year old father of four, was abducted while herding his sheep in Kifri’s Duraj area on Monday by two armed men suspected of being ISIS members, according to Jamal Warani, commander of the Peshmerga forces 144 brigade.

“This afternoon, in Duraj area, located between the Peshmerga and ISIS, the shepherd [Rashid] was abducted by two armed ISIS members on his way home,” Warani told Rudaw.

Shallaw Ako, the shepherd’s nephew from his mother’s side, told Rudaw that earlier this month another of his uncles from his father’s side was abducted by ISIS members on April 1.

Shepherd Farhan Yasin was released for a ransom of 25 thousand dollars on Saturday, according to Ako, after the militant group initially requested 150 thousand dollars.

“Last year, ISIS members killed an uncle and a cousin of mine,” he added.

Four Arab shepherds from Salahaddin province’s Tuz Khurmatu district went missing on the morning of April 7, with the district’s officials quickly assuming that they had been abducted by ISIS members. Three of the men were released later in the day, casting doubt on the legitimacy of their ISIS abduction claims.